University of Tennessee Athletics
Vols Selected to Compete in 2002 NCAA East Regional
May 06, 2002 | Men's Golf
May 6, 2002
The eighth-ranked Tennessee men's golf team has been selected to compete in the 2002 NCAA East Regional. The regional will be held at Ansley Golf Club's Settin' Down Creek in Roswell, Ga. May 16-18. UT was seeded third for the 27-team regional.
This will mark the third straight year the Vols have qualified for regional competition and the 10th time overall since the NCAA implemented the regionals.
Head coach Jim Kelson looks forward to competing in what he sees as a very tough regional on a great course.
"This is being played on one of the best courses I have ever seen," Kelson said. "With the new NCAA regulations, I think our region will be one of the toughest to qualify out of. Our future is in our own hands. If we play the way we should we could advance. This is a very demanding course and I feel that it benefits our players in that regard. We just need to go down and play like we are capable of playing."
The Vols will be competing against a field that includes eight teams ranked in the Golfweek Top 25. The seeding for the 27-team regional is as follows: No. 1 Georgia Tech (No. in the nation), No. 2 Florida (fourth in the nation), No. 3 Tennessee (eighth in the nation), No. 4 Wake Forest (third in the nation), No. 5 Clemson (second in the nation), No. 6 Augusta State (16th in the nation), No. 7 Auburn (10th in the nation), No. 8 Georgia (12th in the nation), No. 9 North Carolina, No. 10 Duke, No. 11 UAB, No. 12 North Florida, No. 13 South Carolina, No.14 Virginia, No. 15 College of Charleston, No. 16 Michigan State, No. 17 Coastal Carolina, No. 18 Furman, No. 19 Georgia Southern, No. 20 Jacksonville State, No. 21 Virginia Commonwealth, No. 22 Penn State, No. 23 South Alabama, No. 24 William and Mary, No. 25 Yale, No. 26 Rhode Island and No. 27 Iona.
The top 10 schools will move on to the NCAA Championships, which will be held at The Scarlet Course in Columbis, Ohio. The top two individuals whose team is not included among the top 10, will also advance.
Tennessee's highest finish in a regional came in 1995 and 1997 when the Vols finished seventh. Since the start of regional play, the Vols have qualified for the NCAA Championships three times from 1995-97.
Two Vols Tabbed to All-SEC Team; Skinns Named SEC Freshman of the Year
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Tennessee golfer David Skinns was named the SEC Freshman of the Year, as well as first team All SEC, while teammate Andrew Pratt was voted second team All SEC.
This marks the first time a Vol golfer has received the honor of freshman of the year since Steven Smith in 1991. This also marks the first time since 1995 that two golfers have been selected the All SEC squad in the same season. Boomer Erick and Scott Kammann were both voted to the second team in 1995.
Skinns, a freshman from Lincoln, England, competed in nine tournaments for the Vols. He led the team in stroke average with a 71.44, as well as rounds of par or better (16) and top 10 finishes (6). David also claimed his first individual title on the collegiate level. He won the Cleveland Golf/Augusta State Invitational with scores of 66-67-70--203. Skinns is currently the 16th ranked player in the nation by Golfweek.
Head coach Jim Kelson was very happy for Skinns.
"I am very pleased for David," Kelson said. "That is a very big honor and he is certainly deserving of the award based on his fine play. I know that was a goal of his prior to the start of the season and it is good to see him achieve it."
Pratt, a junior from Bartlett, Tenn., claimed SEC honors for the first time in his career. He has competed in every tournament for UT and has a stroke average of 73. He finished with 11 rounds of par or better and his highest finish was finishing 13th twice at the Rice Intercollegiate and the Seminole Intercollegiate.
"I know this means a great deal to Andrew," Kelson said. "He has been a key player for us since he has been here and it shows that hard work can pay off."
Florida sophomore Camillo Villegas was named the SEC Golfer of the Year, while Auburn head coach Mike Griffin was named the SEC Coach of the Year.
Players Mentioned
